Cadillac ELR

Cadillac ELR

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It’s astonishing to look at, beautifully crafted inside and out, and the first electric-hybrid Cadillac since…ever. Yet under the glitz is the heart of the Chevrolet Volt and its front-drive chassis. Like the Volt, the ELR operates only on electricity for about 30 miles before the gas-fired engine kicks in to recharge the batteries and keep things going. However, the ELR starts at $65,995—considerably more than the Volt. We find it hard to justify that kind of premium. How about you? Instrumented Test – 2014 Cadillac ELR

Yes, you read that correctly. The ELR’s entry price is nearly double that of the Volt, the Caddy’s mechanical starting point, and it’s roughly 2.5 times that of the average new car.

Hasn’t the Volt proven itself salesproof enough? Or does the ELR make an elegantly tailored and subversively creased argument that the Volt is actually too cheap? Is the Chevy’s primary failing that it doesn’t give the TED-talking, Google-glass-wearing, EV-driving set a suitably expensive way to prove how frugal they are? (See: Tesla.)

And as it turns out, this $80,000 Volt business is a bit of an overstatement anyway. The Cadillac is indeed based on the Chevy but shares very little with it except the 16.5-kWh battery pack and powertrain, and even those have software tweaks.

The floorpan is similar, but the suspension is all-new. It uses GM’s HiPer strut in front for better geometry, a Watt’s linkage for better lateral control at the rear, and variable dampers and power steering from ZF.

It’s longer than the Volt by 8.9 inches, wider by 2.3 inches, and lower by 0.7 inch, and it rides on a slightly longer wheelbase. The base of its windshield sits 6.3 inches forward of the Volt’s for that dramatic front rake, and not a single exterior piece is shared. So saying it’s just an $80,000 Volt is akin to asserting that the Cadillac XTS is a $45,000 Malibu. Which is true and also not true at all.

To the shared bits: What GM calls the Voltec powertrain is a confusing flowchart involving two motor/generators, three clutches, a planetary gearset, and a 1.4-liter four-cylinder. All you need to know is that there are two main propulsion modes: electric vehicle (EV) and extended range (ER). With a fully charged battery, the larger motor is limited to 157 horses and powers the front wheels through a fixed ratio. The second motor/generator, in conjunction with the planetary gears, can provide a ratio effect allowing the ELR to reach its 107-mph top speed in EV mode.

After draining the majority of its battery, the ELR automatically switches to ER mode and lights the engine. Most of the time the engine is turning the second motor/generator to provide electric juice, though there are times when the engine also delivers torque to the wheels. The drive motor makes 181 horsepower in ER mode; if the driver calls for it and there is enough battery, the ELR’s combined system will make up to 217 horsepower, a serious bump from the Volt’s 149.

Running as an EV, the ELR’s acceleration to 60 mph is 9.0 seconds, 0.2 second slower than the last Volt we tested because the 4054-pound ELR is nearly 300 pounds heftier. With its full 217 ponies saddled up, the ELR gets to 60 mph in 8.1 seconds and slips through the quarter-mile mark in 16.5 seconds at 87 mph, putting the ELR in a dead heat with a $16,000 Honda Fit. But the motor’s instantaneous torque will fool you into thinking it’s quicker.

Driven slowly, as the hybrid gods intend, the ELR is as smooth as two fingers of Lagavulin. The only clue that the engine has kicked over is a small change in the gauge cluster. The extra effort invested in the suspension—the shocks, the fancy struts, and the Watt’s linkage—pays off on wrinkled pavement and with increased pace. Even when the tires are close to falling off the grip cliff, at 0.84 g, the car responds to inputs better than any other front-drive hybrid on the road. The electric power steering is appropriately light and has zero slop, on-center and elsewhere.

What the ELR gives up in outright perform­ance, it gets back in efficiency. Unfortunately, EPA figures weren’t available at press time. Caddy says the numbers will be slightly lower than the Volt’s 98 MPGe in combined electric-only driving and 35 mpg city/40 mpg highway. We averaged 37 MPGe. Yes, that seems absurdly low for an often-electric car, but it includes nearly eight gallons of gas burned in ER mode coupled with a test distance of just 440 miles. Over the first 139 miles, we got nearly 80 MPGe. [See below for an MPGe primer.]

E = MPG

Miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) is a unit of measure that allows for simple comparisons of the efficiencies of plug-in hybrids, electrics, and gasoline-powered cars by converting the energy in electricity to gallons of gasoline (the ratio happens to be 33.7 kWh to one gallon of gas). To determine the MPGe, use this equation:

But how to determine kWh used? Submetering a 240-volt circuit on your home panel is pricey, but if you only charge with 120-volt power, inexpensive usage monitors can be found at home-improvement stores.

The four driving modes are hold, mountain, sport, and tour. Added to the Volt last year, hold forces the ELR into extended-range driving. This maintains the battery’s charge and allows the driver to choose when and where to use the 30 or so miles of pure electric driving. It’s most useful on the highway, where aerodynamic drag depletes the battery as quickly as the Omega house drains a keg. Think of the ELR’s battery as a computer hard drive with two unequal partitions. The large partition is used for pure electric driving, and the smaller part is used for ER driving, the same way a regular hybrid uses its relatively small battery: constantly discharging and charging in the name of efficiency. In mountain mode, the smaller partition is temporarily increased. For the record, sport mode is mostly a novelty. It firms up the adaptive dampers, adds some heft to the steering, and quickens the accelerator pedal’s action.

The other unavailable EPA test result is EV range. When released, it should be close to 35 miles, or just three miles shy of the Volt’s. If, say, you live 22 miles from work and your commute includes 14 miles of 70-to-80-mph interstate traffic, you could conceivably drive to work, plug the ELR into a 240-volt source, and drive home without consuming a drop of gasoline.

Charging the ELR fully on a 120-volt source takes between 12.5 and 18 hours, depending on ambient temperature and energy flow. We found it charged overnight on a cold evening without a problem on 120. A 240-volt source will recharge a drained battery in five hours, according to Cadillac.

The ELR has what Cadillac calls “Regen on Demand,” which sort of mimics the way the Tesla Model S initiates regenerative braking every time its driver lifts off the throttle. Squeezing and holding either of the steering-wheel paddles triggers this function. It is either on or off, not progressive like a brake pedal, so there is a bit of a learning curve. Regen on Demand decelerates the car at a maximum of 0.20 g, with the brake lights illuminating at 0.12 g and above. At 0.20 g, an ELR would theoretically stop from 70 mph in about 800 feet, versus 173 feet (0.95 g) in a full-brake situation. But the ELR won’t come to a complete stop using only Regen on Demand.

With practice, you can drive around town with one pedal, using the paddles to engage regen and set up for 90-degree corners or otherwise manage speed. It makes mundane driving partially entertaining; you have to perfectly time it to avoid tapping the brakes. But we’d still rather have maximum regenerative braking when lifting off the accelerator, as in the Tesla.

The styling theme remained fairly static over the ELR’s gestation (the Converj concept that influenced this car made its debut at the 2009 Detroit auto show), and with good reason: The envelope is beautiful and dramatic. It was determined that a low-volume, Volt-based Cadillac was a non-starter without 20-inch wheels, no matter how much their increased rotational inertia and 245-section-width tires hurt efficiency.

Theres no mistaking the ELRs sumptuous, if somewhat busy, cockpit for that of the cheaply finished, iPod-inspired Chevy Volt.

Inside, the enormous dash has layers of material that look like stalled lava flows of carbon fiber, wood, suede, and leatherette. The $2450 Kona Brown leather seats come with adjustable thigh support and bolsters. Whether they’re worth the money is debatable, but the color is rich and contributes to an inviting, comfortable forecabin.

The back seat, however, is of little use to anyone eligible for a library card. Even a five-foot-six-inch adult must endure head-on impacts with the rear glass. Cargo capacity can be increased from the trunk’s nine cubic feet if you fold the rear seats, but the extra room isn’t as handy as you might think. The seatback splits 40-20-40, but the 20 part never moves—and not because of any need for body-stiffening structure. Rather, the fixed waterfall design element in the rear seat is strictly cosmetic, reducing the ELR’s practicality even more than its lack of rear headroom.

Cadillac won’t say how many ELRs it hopes to sell. Judging by the price, it will be fairly limited, even if the tax rebates from the federal government ($7500) and some states (up to $7500) are attractive. Those with the means will love the ELR for the way it minimizes trips to the pump, satisfies a technology craving, and offers exclusivity. Is it worth it? Well, if you care about showing people how much you care about the environment while also showing them how much car you can afford, you will find that question very déclassé.

TEST NOTES:Feels seat-of-thepants quicker in extended-range mode, when it's basically operating as a series hybrid. When the battery is low, the engine hums along until there is enough charge to maintain performance.